Toyota Motor Corp. is making its largest bet to date on ride hailing with a $1 billion investment in Singapore’s Grab Holdings Inc. The Japanese auto manufacturer’s investment values Grab, Southeast Asia’s largest car-hailing service, at just over $10 billion, according to a person familiar with the transaction. A Toyota executive will be appointed to Grab’s board, and another Toyota employee will be seconded to Grab to as an executive officer, the carmaker said Wednesday. Automakers are taking steps toward a future where mobility services will make individual car-ownership less necessary, while trying to fend off technology giants targeting the same market. General Motors Co., Daimler AG and Honda Motor Co. are among manufacturers that are investing in ride-hailing applications and developing self-driving vehicles. “This is a good decision -- Toyota should not be late in this area,” said Tatsuo Yoshida, an equities analyst at Sawakami Asset Management Inc. in Tokyo. “Ride sharing is coming. For car companies, this is a painful reality, but it can be a business opportunity if they understand it correctly.”
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